MELBOURNE, Australia – Ash Barty, who scored the best position, built up a big lead in her quarter-final at the Australian Open before her opponent took a lapse of time for injuries and left court.
More than an hour later, it was Barty who was suddenly on his way to the exit. She was upset Wednesday by Karolina Muchova, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Seed no. 25, Muchova won her first Grand Slam semifinal. Her return victory ends Barty’s bid to become the first Australian woman to win the title in Melbourne since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Muchova’s opponent on Thursday is the winner of the last quarter-final, an American match between Jennifer Brady, the 22nd seed, and Jessica Pegula, which was not sown.
Muchova played poorly at the start of her second quarterfinal, and Barty led 5-0 while losing just six points. After nine games, Muchova had one winner and 18 unforced errors, and early in the second set, she took a time-out for injuries that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
“I felt a little lost,” Muchova said. “Ash started very well. She played almost like no mistakes; it was very difficult. I was a little lost on the track and my head was spinning so I took a breather. And it helped me. ‘
Medical staff took her temperature, checked her blood pressure and gave her ice cream before she left court. When the Czech returned, she played much better.
“I tried to play a little faster rallies so we didn’t play long games like in the first set,” Muchova said, “and it worked well.”
Comebacks were an important part of the tournament for Muchova, who teamed up in earlier matches to win sets after trailing 5-0 and 4-0.
Against Barty, she started moving in court earlier. Barty, pushed in behind the baseline, becomes indecisive and fickle.
During one piece, Muchova won eight of nine matches. Barty finishes with 37 unforced errors and loses four times in the last two sets.
Muchova’s only other victory over a top five was against Karolina Pliskova at no. 3 at Wimbledon in 2019.